you probably think i don't like being myself

if you were wondering why the absence? you can attribute it to 32 hours of the last 48 that i spent in good old Indian railways..
i was to go for an innocuous visit to Madras nka (now known as) chennai. to pick up my certificates of course completion for my MA. got into a train at three thity in the afternoon for which since amma (mum) is such a fuss sent me to the station one hour early and with a confirmed ticket there isn't much to do an hour earlier as you can imagine. ok so the train is moving and i realise that there are exactly two people in the compartment (indicating subtlely to the fact that no one except idiots like me and the other guy travel at that time of the day). moving on here is the good part. i have to make confession i am a hijda magnet . i know, its true. if there is one of them in the train and i am somewhere on it he/she will find me. mind you i don't have an issue with them and well kinda like their funny routines. but nothing could have prepared me for what was in store. the hijda after having ellicited money from my fellow passengers came to me and said ' ten bucks' in clear english with a firang accent .
i laughed so hard i almost fell of the chair . so much so that i gave him 'ten bucks'.
ok reach madras for the work i am supposed to do but can't seem to get it done.
was to meet my friend pixie(no thats not her real name!! only the name under which she has no gambling debts) but since my lovely college made me wait till four for something i was supposed to get in five minutes my entire day goes for a toss = Pixie is not happy( about me.. not the gambling debts mind you).
ok now to another issue i have a train to catch from a train station that is twelve stations away .....in one hour<=> estimated time of arrival 5'0'clock. estimated time of dparture of train
5'0'clock. in a manic run which attempted to imitate tomcruise(which looked more like kesto mukherjee) i board the train(half screaming out to the guy whether it is the right train) also quitely thanking indian railways for not installing automatic doors. he smiles lets me in. i look around something is wrong.. i realise i have entered the general compartment. i want to scream at some one i look for inspiration hope kali or chandi will grace me with their fiery precence. in walks buddha into my mind wearing his shades. ray-ban ki chooth i say!! he looks around and says nice!! i ask him doesn't any thing piss you off ? he just smiles and puts on the a'c of my mind i figure just wait till the next station. the guy at the door tells me this is an express train its next stop is at arakkonnam two ours away . i love my life.
two hour later with half my spirit broken and the other half spent on staying sane i walk into my compartment to hear from my TT a speech on why young people shouldn't be late..
and it gets bette r i finally go to sleep and get up in the morning to realise my train broke down at night when i was fast asleep and is five hours late.
I LOVE MY LIFE!!!

when you want to shoot yourself but think of all the mess you would make...

i arrived in delhi after a break of seven odd years to go to college. As i am unpacking my stuff in my room in walk Mr. Anuj bawa from lucknow who asks me promptly ' yaar now that we are in Delhi what are we delhites? or delights?'
i looked at bawa, at his heart felt question and replied 'you definately are a delight'.